Markey holds solid lead over Gomez, poll says: A new Boston Globe poll shows a 13-point gap in the Markey-Gomez US Senate race, with 10 days to go, but disengaged voters remain unpredictable. State House bureau chief Frank Phillips and political reporter Michael Levenson detail the results.

Older athletes playing longer, pushing boundaries: Pro sports teams rely more than ever on aging stars - and nowhere is that truer than in Boston. In part one of an exclusive two-part series, sports enterprise reporter Shira Springer writes about how the hopes of fans of all four major local professional teams lean on superstars well past their athletic primes, like Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Kevin Garnett and Zdeno Chara. More details on these athletes and the broader trend, plus a sidebar on key Boston athletes, then and now.